INDIANAPOLIS – A day after Gov. Eric Holcomb won reelection in Indiana, he emphatically denied the rumors that the state will be moving back to a shutdown.
He also denied a similar rumor that all schools in Indiana will be moving to all-virtual, as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations reached new highs on Wednesday.
“No truth to that whatsoever,” Holcomb said. “I would just ask folks to keep in mind in the future that whoever those sources are, to discount them.”
Indiana set records Wednesday for new single-day COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations with 3,756 and 1,897, respectively.
Holcomb said Indiana is not in the same place it was in the spring, when about 500 cases a day caused shutdowns and stay-at-home orders. He said the difference is in Indiana’s capacity to care for COVID-19 patients.
About 30% of ICU beds in the state are available and 77% of ventilators are available.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box called on Hoosiers to do the proven things to try and slow the spread – social distancing and wearing masks.
“The decisions we make here have zero, zip, zilch, nothing, nada – I don’t know how to say it any clearer – to do with politics or campaigns,” Holcomb said. “The only campaign we’re doing here is the campaign to try and save lives.”
Watch Holcomb's Wednesday briefing here:
